Ryder Cup Twice & 4 Wins
Paul Way was a fantastic golfer. When he made his debut in the Ryder Cup became the second youngest Ryder Cup player after Nick Faldo. Very strong and a good ball striker with a short game to match Paul for a long time looked the most likely player to take the mantle from Ballesteros and Faldo, he was that good!
I worked with Paul for the first time at the 1995 PGA Championships at Wentworth and then again for a period in 2003 and by this time Paul had already been to see David Leadbetter out in Orlando. Wentworth was the scene of Paul’s phenomenal win over Sandy Lyle where a 66 on the final day saw him make a play off in which he defeated the great Scotsman.
Its remarkable to think that Paul won on Tour aged 19, in his first year when he secured the KLM Dutch Open. He was heralded then as the next superstar of golf.
Way came out to stay with me for a week in Portugal once and told me some amazing stories about Seve Ballesteros and the Ryder Cup. Way made his Ryder Cup debut in the US in 1983 and was partnered with the great man Seve. One was when he was on the first tee at the PGA National, first day of the Ryder cup. Seve said to him to hit the first tee shot but Way was really nervous. Seve said to him ” Paul, it doesn’t matter where you hit it, as we will find it and I will put the second shot onto the green.” Paul Way told me that it really helped settle his nerves, and as we all know it was an outstanding Ryder cup debut for Way.
I went to see Paul recently (Nov 2015) and we spoke about times gone by and he remembered very well our times together. He still to this day counts as one of the most naturally gifted golfers I have ever had the pleasure to coach and I hope he has a long and successful Senior’s career.